2011: Version 4.

0 (J ULY 2011)






INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS SUBMITTING
EXAMINABLE WORK ON PAPER

IMPORTANT
This booklet contains important information that could affect
your module result. Please read it carefully and take note of
everything that directly concerns you.


Cut-off Date
Please see your module materials for the cut-off date.


Submission
We strongly advise you to post your EMA to the address below at least three
working days prior to the cut-off date to allow for delivery and to obtain proof
of posting.


Questions
If you have any questions about submitting your examinable work, please
contact us using one of the following options:

: 01908 655291 (9.00am 5.00pm, Mon Fri)

: projects-and-portfolios@open.ac.uk

: Projects, Portfolios and Dissertations Office
The Open University
P.O. Box 721
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6ZU


If you need to receive this booklet in an alternative format, please contact the
above office


2


Contents
1. Introduction
2. Examinable work
3. Your cut-off date for submission
4. Preparing your work for paper submission

5. How to submit your work on paper
5.1 Submitting by post
5.2 Submitting by hand
5.3 Receipt of work

6. Extensions and deferrals of examinable work
6.1 Criteria for applying
6.2 How and when to apply
6.3 Documentary evidence
6.4 Continue working on your examinable work
7. Special circumstances affecting your performance
7.1 Continuous assessment Form PT39
7.2 Examinable work Form E39/E39P
7.3 Performance affected by disability, an illness or a medical condition
8. Misconduct
9. Module Results
9.1 Notification of module results
9.2 Resubmission
9.3 Non-receipt of result notification
9.4 Pending results
9.5 Module result queries and appeals
10. Information on your performance in the examinable work

Appendix A: What constitutes plagiarism or cheating
Appendix B: Special Circumstances Form E39/E39P

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1. Introduction

This booklet explains the Universitys arrangements for the submission on paper of examinable
work
1
as the final element of a module. You must check your module material to determine
how your examinable work must be submitted on paper or electronically. If your module
has compulsory electronic submission you should refer to the booklet Information for Students
Submitting Examinable Work Electronically.

This booklet supplements the information in the Assessment Handbook and your module
materials. The Assessment Handbook sets out important information about the assessment of
your examinable work, with which you are expected to be familiar and to comply in full. You can
access the Assessment Handbook from your StudentHome page on www.open.ac.uk/students or
via the Assessment website at www.open.ac.uk/assessment

Throughout this booklet you will see balloons like this that
will help you navigate this document.

You will also see boxes like this that highlight things that are important
and may refer you to other sections for more information.

2. Examinable work

Your module material will give you specific instructions on the academic content of your
examinable work. If you are a resubmission or deferral student, you may also have received
additional information from the Module Team.

3. Your cut-off date for submission

You should already have been told of the cut-off date for submission of your examinable work.
This is the date by which we must have received your work at the Walton Hall campus. The date
is also quoted on the personalised letter and ET3 forms which are mailed to you approximately 6
weeks before the submission date for your examinable work. Your work must be sent in time
for it to arrive at Walton Hall no later than 12 noon (UK local time) on the cut-off date. There
is a grace period of 12 hours, so any examinable work received/delivered before midnight will still
be accepted.

We strongly recommend that you allow at least 3 working days
for delivery and that you obtain proof of posting.

If your work is received after the cut-off date, it will not be accepted for
assessment and will be returned to you unmarked unless either:

you are able to prove that it was posted in sufficient time to arrive before the cut-off date
(items that are received late and postmarked with the date of the cut-off will not be deemed to
have been posted in sufficient time); or
you have had formal approval for delay or deferral from
the University.


1
For ease of reference, the term examinable work in this document will cover all work (such as
projects, portfolios, essays, final project reports, dissertations, posters, etc.) that constitutes either the
whole, or a part, of the examinable component.

How do I
do that?
Remember
Remember to
submit well
before the cut-off.
See Section 6 on
Extensions and Deferrals
of Examinable Work.
See Section 5.1 for
what constitutes
proof of posting.

4
Several hundred students failed to meet their submission deadline last year and so failed
their module.

4. Preparing your work for paper submission

Mark every page with your name and Personal Identifier.
Make sure that you send in the required number of copies of your work (the letter
accompanying the ET3 forms tells you how many copies of your work you should submit). If
you do not, you will be asked to supply one or more extra copies and this may delay the
marking. Each copy must be identical and complete.

You should have received one Cover Sheet for End of Module Assessment (ET3) per copy of
work you are required to submit. The acceptance of your work for assessment is conditional
on you signing each ET3 to confirm that the work you are submitting is your own and does not
contain material copied from other sources without suitable referencing. Attach one of these
signed ET3s to the front of each copy of your submitted work. However, if you cannot find
your ET3 forms, do not delay submitting your work.

The barcode on each ET3 is unique and is used as the basis of a system for tracking the copy
of your work to which it is attached. It is therefore important that you use a different ET3 on
each copy rather than simply signing one, photocopying it and attaching it to the front of each
copy. Similarly, do not use any ET3s that you may have been sent previously.
Keep a copy of your examinable work for your own reference and in case your submitted
copies get lost in the post. The University will not return any copies of your examinable
work after it has been assessed.
Submit all copies of your work together in one package, taking care to ensure that each copy
has a signed ET3 attached to the front and that the packaging is secure.
Stick the pre-addressed label enclosed with your ET3 forms on to your package and enter
your module code in the space provided. If you lose the label, send your work to the Projects,
Portfolios and Dissertations Office at the address given on the front cover of this booklet.

5 How to submit your work on paper

5.1 Submitting by post

You must obtain independent proof of posting your work in good time. The proof of posting
must be issued by a recognised postal or courier service. However, unless absolutely
necessary, please do not use recorded delivery post as this will delay its progress within
the University and is relatively expensive. If you are sending work from outside of the United
Kingdom, you may find recorded delivery or courier services are the only method of carriage
that provides proof of posting. However, do check with the carrier that delivery can be made
to a PO Box number. If not, simply cross out the PO box number on the address label.
You must also ensure that you have paid sufficient postage. A single first class stamp will
probably not be sufficient and work received late because of insufficient postage will be
returned unmarked.
You should keep your proof of posting until you receive your module result.

Remember that you must send
your work in hard copy you
cannot submit electronically.

5

5.2 Submitting by hand

You may deliver your work by hand to:

Walton Hall up to midday on the cut-off date for your module, or to
your regional or national centre (excluding any non-UK office) up to 2 days before the cut-off
date, in order to ensure that it reaches Walton Hall in time.

If you are delivering your work to Walton Hall you should go to the Main Reception if you arrive
during normal working hours (i.e. 9.00 am to 5.30 pm, Monday to Thursday; 9.00 am to 5.00 pm
Friday). Alternatively, you can deliver your work during the 12 hour grace period to the Security
Lodge at Walton Hall before midnight on the cut-off date. The Security Lodge is open 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. You should obtain a receipt that is either stamped or which gives the
name of the person to whom it was handed and the date on which it was handed in. Ensure that
all hand-delivered work is in a sealed envelope. We cannot accept your work in any other format
than that specified by your module. In particular, we cannot accept faxed copies or work
submitted electronically, unless this is a module requirement.

5.3 Receipt of work

You can check that your examinable work has been received by logging on to StudentHome
(www.open.ac.uk/students). Please note that it may take up to 7 days for StudentHome to be
updated.

6. Extensions and deferrals of examinable work

On most modules, in certain exceptional cases, if circumstances beyond your control prevent you
from meeting the submission date for your piece of work, you may be eligible to either:

delay submission by up to three weeks (referred to as an extension); or
defer submission of the examinable component until the submission
date for the following presentation of the module (a deferral).

Remember to check that you have passed the continuous assessment
component of the module before applying for a deferral.

If extensions and deferrals are not permitted on your module, your module materials
will indicate this. If you are unsure, contact the Project, Portfolios and Dissertations Office (see
front cover for contact details).

6.1 Criteria for applying

You can apply to delay submission only if the following circumstances have arisen in the final
three weeks before the published submission date for your module:

prolonged illness supporting medical documentation must be provided; or
death or serious illness of a close relative medical certificate or other appropriate supporting
evidence must be provided; or
other serious exceptional circumstances supported by documentary evidence.



Check the
study calendar
and/or online
assessment
calculator for
your module.

6

You can only get formal approval to submit your work late
by following the procedure detailed below. No other area
or employee of the University is authorised to give this
permission.

6.2 How and when to apply

All applications for an extension or deferral must be in writing or email and must be received at
Walton Hall before the cut-off date. The University will not accept telephone requests. Neither
your tutor (if you have one) nor staff at your regional or national centre have the authority to give
you permission to submit examinable work after the cut-off date.

You can either write a letter or email. In your application you should clearly set out:

your name and personal identifier and the module concerned;

the details of your circumstances; and

the timescale in which they affected your work.

Send your request to:

Assessment Policy Office
P.O. Box 83
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6BF

Alternatively, you can send an email to: Ema-Extension@open.ac.uk

We strongly recommend that you obtain proof of posting in case your
request is either lost or delayed. If you email your request you
will receive an automatic acknowledgement, which you should retain
as proof that you submitted your request. Remember that your request
must be received before the cut-off date.

6.3 Documentary evidence

You must also provide independent documentary evidence supporting your application. If you are
ill, the evidence must be a medical certificate covering the period concerned and signed by a
certified medical practitioner.

If you need advice on the formulation of your application please contact the Learner Support
Team at your regional or national centre.

6.4 Continue working on your examinable work

You should not assume that an extension or deferral will be granted and are therefore
advised to continue working on your examinable work while a decision is pending.

Remember to apply for
extensions and
deferrals before the
cut-off date.
See Section 5.1 for
what constitutes
proof of posting.
Remember that your tutor or
regional/National centre or
the Projects & Portfolios
Office cannot grant
extensions to the examinable
component. See below for
details of who to contact.

7

7. Special circumstances affecting your performance

Examination and Assessment Boards can give only limited weight to information about special
circumstances. Nevertheless, if you believe that you have studied the module effectively but that
special circumstances have had a serious adverse effect on your performance in your continuous
assessment or in the production of your examinable work, you may bring information about this to
the attention of the Board for your module. The Assessment Handbook and the notes on the back
of the E39/E39P form (provided towards the end of this booklet) give guidance as to the sorts of
circumstances that the University considers serious and those that it does not. The Learner
Support Team at your regional or national centre will also be able to offer advice.
The Assessment Handbook explains what you have to do in order to report special
circumstances. The following is therefore only a brief summary:

7.1 Continuous assessment Form PT39

The form PT39 is available from your regional or national centre and on the assessment website
(www.open.ac.uk/assessment - click on Forms used in assessment). Once completed, the form
must be sent to the address given on the form, together with supporting documentary evidence,
to arrive no later than 14 days after the published cut-off date for your final assignment (eg.
TMA or CMA). Neither your tutor nor any other member of staff can submit this information on
your behalf. Please read the instructions on the form and keep proof of posting it.

7.2 Examinable work Form E39/E39P

You must use the E39/E39P form provided towards the end of this booklet, which is also available
on the Assessment website (www.open.ac.uk/assessment - click on Forms Used in
Assessment). Please read the instructions on the form about completing it. Once completed,
please make sure that you attach supporting documentary evidence.

Your form should be sent to arrive no earlier than the cut-off date for submission of your
examinable work and no more than seven days after the cut-off date. Once again,
you are strongly advised to obtain proof of posting in case your
submission is lost in the post.

Do not use the E39/E39P form to request an extension.

Special circumstance information received after the seven-day
deadline cannot usually be taken into account unless you can show that you were unable
to notify the University at the time. It is your responsibility to make sure that it reaches the
University by the appropriate date.

7.3 Performance affected by a disability, an illness or a medical condition

When determining module results, Examination and Assessment Boards are provided with very
little information on students apart from how they have performed in the assessed tasks during
the module. More specifically, they are given no information automatically about students
disabilities, illnesses or medical conditions.

You are strongly urged to submit form PT39 (as discussed above) if you think your disability or
health has had a serious adverse affect on your performance in the continuous assessment part
of the module.

Similarly, you should submit form E39/E39P (also discussed above) if you think that your disability
or health has significantly affected the preparation or quality of your examinable work.
See Section 6 for
more information
on extensions and
deferrals.

8
Information about your disability that you have given the University for other purposes will
not be brought to the attention of the Examination and Assessment Board.
8. Misconduct

The University insists on a very high standard of conduct from students in submitting work for
assessment. Any misconduct is regarded as a serious matter that may warrant disciplinary
action. Examples of misconduct in the submission of examinable work include:

attempting to influence a marker or other University official (for example, by including notes in
your examinable work that are, or could be construed to be, intended to influence the reader);
plagiarism (see the Universitys statement What constitutes plagiarism or cheating? in
Appendix A of this booklet); and
collusion excessive collaboration with others that results in the same (or very similar) text
being reproduced in each collaborators examinable work.
You should be aware that the University reserves the right to check your examinable work for
possible plagiarism or collusion.

9. Module results

9.1 Notification of module results

From J uly this year you will notice a few changes in the way in which you are notified about
module results. Improvements to systems that support module result notifications are coming in
to effect this Summer. Students submitting End of Module Assessments or sitting examinations in
J une will be some of the first to notice the change, when they receive their results in August.

When your module result is ready to be released, an email message
will be sent to tell you that your result will shortly be available to
view on StudentHome. A hard copy letter will only be sent to
students for whom the University does not have a recorded email
address.

A new feature on StudentHome will also enable you to download a
result letter should you need it as evidence for employers, sponsers,
etc. The style and content of this downloadable letter will be much
the same as before. Result letters for previously studied modules from October 2000 onnwards
will also be available to download.

Module results are issued at five distinct points in the year. To find out when you can expect to
receive notification of your result, please refer to the following table. Find the date in the left-hand
column that comes after the cut-off date for your module then read across to the second column.
Unless the University has notified you otherwise, this is when you can expect your result to be
issued.
Latest submission date Module results released
31 J anuary late March
30 April late J une
15 J une early August
31 J uly late September
31 October late December

Information about results cannot be given over the telephone. Please do not ask your regional or
national centre, Tutor or Module Team members about your results.
Remember, to access
StudentHome you will need
your Open University
Computer Username
(OUCU) and password,
which were sent to you
when you registered on this
module (or a previous
module).

9

On most modules, students are issued with a score for their examinable work. However, some
modules provide only the result.

9.2 Resubmission

If you marginally fail the examinable component but have achieved an
overall pass mark on continuous assessment, you may be entitled to
resubmit your examinable work. The rules regarding resubmissions vary
from module to module. Some modules do not allow resubmissions at all.
Please refer to the Assessment Handbook and your module guide for further
information.

9.3 Non-receipt of result notification

If you have not received notification of your result within 12 weeks of your module formally ending
or within a period specified by the Module Team please write to:

Examinations Office
The Open University
P.O. Box 720
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6ZQ

9.4 Pending results

For a few students each year Examination and Assessment Boards are unable to come to a
decision about the module result to be awarded. If this happens to you, you will be given a
pending result. There are various reasons for this. The Board may want you to attend a viva
voce examination you would be told about this separately or a TMA score or information
delayed by scriptmarking might be missing from your assessment record. Urgent action is always
taken by the University to provide the Board with the information it needs so that a final result can
be sent to you as soon as possible.

9.5 Module result queries and appeals

Your Assessment Handbook explains how module results are awarded, and how result queries
and formal appeals can be made. There are also detailed questions and answers on
StudentHome underneath your module result. If, after reading these explanations carefully, you
think you have evidence that your module result is incorrect, you should write to the Head of
Examinations and Assessment within 4 weeks of the date of your result notification (see the link
on StudentHome for the contact address).

The University is confident that the results issued are appropriate, and therefore individual
submissions or assignments will not be remarked. A module result can only be reviewed if there
is evidence of clerical, administrative or system error in determining that result. Students have no
right of appeal against the academic judgement of an Examination and Assessment Board.

You should not await receipt of any feedback information (see section below) before raising a
query if this is the action you feel is appropriate. The University will not engage in any
discussions about feedback comments and will not accept students disagreement over particular
comments as grounds for reviewing module results.

We will not disclose or discuss module results over the telephone or to a third person.
See Section 1
for more
information on
the Assessment
Handbook.

10

10. Information on your performance in the examinable work

Your module materials will tell you whether you will be issued with information on your
performance in the examinable work. Any information provided will have been sanctioned by the
Examination and Assessment Board and represents an academic appraisal of your work.

On some modules this information is only available via a link on your module results page in
StudentHome. On other modules, this information is handwritten and will be sent out by post only
after the results have been issued. You should receive this within 3 weeks of the notification of
your module result.




11

APPENDIX A


What constitutes plagiarism or cheating?

The following is extracted from the Universitys formal statement on plagiarism as quoted in all
Assessment Handbooks. References to assignments should be taken to include any piece of
work submitted for assessment, not just tutor-marked assignments.

If you submit an assignment that contains work that is not your own, without indicating this to the
marker (acknowledging your sources) you are committing plagiarism. This might occur in an
assignment when
using a choice phrase or sentence that you have come across,
copying word-for-word directly from a text,
paraphrasing the words from a text very closely,
using text downloaded from the internet,
borrowing statistics or assembled facts from another person or source,
copying or downloading figures, photographs, pictures or diagrams without acknowledging your
sources,
copying from the notes or essays of a fellow student, or
copying from your own notes, on a text, tutorial, video or lecture, that contain direct quotations.
Plagiarism may occur inadvertently due to inexperience. So read carefully all the module specific study
advice that you receive in your mailings, especially statements concerning plagiarism and how to
reference your sources.
Although you are encouraged to show the results of your reading by referring to and quoting from
works on your subject, copying from such sources without acknowledgement is deemed to be
plagiarism and will not be accepted by the University. You are encouraged to collaborate with others in
studying, but submitted work copied from or written jointly with others is not acceptable, unless
collaboration is required in the particular assignment. Therefore, when submitting your ECA you are
asked to confirm that all assessment work you have submitted is your own.
Submitting work that has been done by someone else and persistent borrowing of other peoples work
without citation are obvious instances of plagiarism and are regarded as cheating. Paying for work
from other sources and submitting it as your own is also cheating. It is intellectually dishonest to cheat
and thus give one student an unfair advantage over others. If a case of plagiarism is proven, this is a
serious offence and the Open University disciplinary procedures will be followed, as described under
the Student Regulations SA 1.6 and SD 7.2.
Form E39/E39P
Special Circumstance Information (Examinations and Examinable Work)
This form should only be used to inform the University of serious circumstances occurring in the 3
weeks up to and including either the examination, or the cut-off date of your final piece of examinable
work (for modules examined by a project, portfolio or dissertation), that have adversely affected your
performance.
Before completing this form, read the guidance notes overleaf, and make sure that you have
carefully read through the information in your Assessment Handbook (accessible via StudentHome).
Completed forms must arrive at the University no later than 7 days after either the examination
concerned, or the cut-off date for submission of examinable work. For address see overleaf.
Name (block capitals) Personal identifier
Module affected (1 module per form)
Date of examination/Cut-off date for
submission of examinable work
Regional or National Centre code Examination centre code

Description of the special circumstances, and how they adversely affected revision, or
examination/examinable work performance (continue on a separate sheet if necessary)
Type of documentary evidence attached
Signature
Date

Were the difficulties that affected your examination or final examinable module component related to a
disability or ongoing health difficulty either physical or mental (such as depression or anxiety)? If so, please
tick this box so that we can contact you to discuss how we can support you in your studies in the future.

Guidelines for submission of special circumstances
Read these guidelines carefully before completing the form
DO NOT use this form to ask to defer your examination to a later date; to do this you must contact
your Regional or National Centre (see the section entitled Absence from an examination of the
Examination Arrangements booklet).
DO NOT use this form to apply for a deferral, or an extension to the submission date for examinable
work. Instead, please refer to the Extensions and Deferrals of Examinable Work section of the
Information for Students Submitting Examinable Work booklet appropriate to your module for details
of how to do this, or email EMA-Extension@open.ac.uk.
DO NOT use this form to report special circumstances affecting your continuous assessment; to do
this you must use form PT39. Copies of form PT39 are available from your Regional or National
Centre, or can be downloaded from StudentHome.
This form should ONLY be used to inform the University of serious circumstances occurring in the 3
weeks up to and including either the examination, or the cut-off date for examinable work, that have
adversely affected your performance.
The kinds of special circumstance that the University may consider to be serious include:
the death or critical illness of a dependant or close relative (evidence such as a medical
certificate or death certificate is required)
a severely debilitating illness during most of the revision period, the examination, or the
submission of examinable work (medical evidence is required)
the loss, due to circumstances beyond your control, of more than 10 minutes of examination
time (you should also have brought this to the attention of the invigilator so that it is included in
the report of events and conditions during the examination)
difficulties caused by a disability or additional requirement, for which you feel that the
Universitys adjustments were not appropriate
Examination and Assessment Boards are aware that all students come under pressure at times.
The Board does not, therefore, normally give weight to events that could have been anticipated,
such as:
planned house removals
pressure of work
normal pregnancy
English as a second language
Failure of computer hardware or software
Give brief and precise information about how your performance has been affected.
You must provide appropriate documentary evidence. If this evidence is not immediately available,
please explain why on the form and send the evidence to arrive no later than 4 weeks after either the
examination date, or the cut-off date for submission of examinable work.
Complete 1 copy of the form for each module affected. If you need more forms, you may photocopy a
blank form. Alternatively, additional forms can be requested from your Regional or National Centre, or
downloaded from StudentHome.
Please send forms to:
The Head of Assessment, Credit and Qualifications
Ref: E39/E39P
The Open University
PO Box 720
Milton Keynes
MK7 6ZQ
If you want receipt of this form to be acknowledged, please enclose a stamped self-addressed
envelope. You must keep proof of posting.
The form must arrive no later than 7 days after either the examination concerned, or the cut-
off date for submission of examinable work. Forms that arrive later will not be accepted except at
the Universitys discretion.